Quick-loading roll film camera and cartridge therefor



Sept. l2, 1950 J. MlHALYl ErAL 'A 2,521,932

QUICK-LOADING ROLL FILM CAMERA AND CARTRIDGE THEREF'OR Filed Jan. 8, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet l1.

A I. .IIIIIIIA WIIIIA'II'IA "IIII'I HTO/PNEYS Sept. l2, 1950 J. QUICK-LOADING ROLL FILM CAMERA AND CARTRIDGE THEREFOR Filed Jan, 8, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

6 39\[[LLL 1 43 @#51 u 5J L `4a* y 43 4a 4Zv 3 L /1 ll 7 l Il I I| JOSEP/7 M/HHLY/ ERW//VJ WHRD INVENTOR.

MIHALYI ET AL 2,521,932

Patented Sept. 12, 1950 y UNITED 'STATES PATENT cl2-Fiel:y

Quran-LOADING ROL-L FILM CAMERA AND oAn'rRmGE THEREFOR Joseph Mihaiyi and :Erwin J. Ward, Rochester,

N'. Y., assignors to Eastman Kodakl Company, Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of'N'ew Jersey Application JanuaryrS, 1947, SeriaLNo. 720,766.

14 Claims. (Cl. 242-471) camera.l Another object of our,- invention is to l provide a receptacle in the camera to receive Va roll cfa-film carried 'by-v a spool and to provide a mechanism which facilitates the rapid insertion and removalv off the film spool from the camera. Astill furtherV object of' our invention isto provde a specialtype of 4nlm 'cartridge which cooperatesv with a special type of film receptacle insucha manner that the loadingand unloading operations can be readily carried out with but little chance of improper loading. Other objects-,will appear from the following specification, the novel features-heilig particularly pointed out inthe-claims at the end thereof.

In the usual type ot rollnlm camera, the camera is provided with supply and take-up l'rn spool chambers and two'v filmspools are used, one inthe :supply androne in the take-up. charnber. The film', or theililm. with its backing paper..

normally has to be threaded tothe emptyspool in the take-up chamber, 'andI nlm is Wound from one` spool to the other, as `exposures-are made; Whenfthe exposed lm isremoved, the empty spool must fbechanged from the supply to the take-up chamber and a fresh spool ofr film -i-nserted. Such a loading arrangement wasenot only .comparatively slow and cumbersome,` but itfsuifered from the difculty-that'it ,frequentlyl happened that the. backing paper, or film, would'.

bef-improperly threaded `on thetake-up spoolr and,l occasionally, improper winding would result.

In Patent No. 2,336,278-, J. Mihalyi, for Fi-lm Winding Apparatus, granted December .'7, 1943, there is .illustrated-a camera into which a Spool of filmv can be readily inserted and removed through anaxialimovement ofthe nlm into the flm :spool chamber, only` one film spoolbeingl required; the iii-m being wound from the one spool-into a loose coil and back on. the originali spool. It is to this type of camera thatfthe vpresent invention -isparticularly directed.

Coming vnow to .the drawings whereinr like:

reference characters denote like partsy through.-V out.:

Fig. 1 is a section througha camera in which a loading receptacle, constructed in accordancel with, a preferred embodiment of our invention, isshown; e

Fig. Zwis .a 'rear elevation shown parti-allyin section-of, the `camera shown in Fig; 1;;

Fig. 3 is a side 'elevation of a spoolof film which vmay be used in the camera shown in the preceding; views;

.4y is a side Velevation-oi a cartridge constructed in accordance withl a preferred form of our invention, showing the nlm spool of Figt carried by a light-protective container and: forming a completev film cartridge `constructed in accordance; with our invention;

Fig.,5 is aside elevation shown .in partially fragmentary form, showing the film receptacle .of a camera constructed in accordance with a Fig. 9 is a top plan View of the partially-@cylindrical container in the camera which receives the lm. cartridge in bothv loading and unload lng..

x Our invention broadly consists in providing a light-tight film cartridge comprising a spoolwith convolutions of nlm., or convolutions of film and backing paper, wound thereon; this, nlm. spool being contained in a generally-cylindrical container having a iiange at one end and one or more protuberances at the opposite `end to. serve .asl a snap-latch, holding the .film 'spool normally in the `container toprotect .thelm against light. In a preferred form of lm, cartridge, .no .backing paper whatever is used, ai` though the lm has an opaque backing.,

Such. al film vcartridgeis constructed yfor ythe rapid insertion and removal of the film spool in a camera; the camera being `provided .with a receptacle for the film` spool, this Yreceptacle including interlocking `members which prevent the yimproperl positioning vof the receptacle in a I camera. v

More specifically, a preferred vform vof .nlmcartridge is shownin Figs. -3 and-4. Fig. S-.show-sv a spool designated generally as S having spaced flanges 2z and .3, these anges being welded',gor otherwise attached, to a `hub- 4. Convol-lutions o f iilrn- 5,- are wound on the hub- 4 this film hav-- ing a sensitized surface on one side and an opaque, backing on the opposite side, as well known. Theend of the lili-n 5 may be cut-at anangle 6l to facilitate passing the film throughthe camera. The lm spool, withfits: convolutions of lm is then placed in al container l, which; is generally cylindrical in shape, open at, the. end 8, and having. a small flange @projecting inwardly and overlapping the periphery of the upper film spool flange 2. This cylindrical con-A tainer, because of its relatively-close t between. the flanges 2 ofthe spool andthe cylindrical portion l of thel,containerI prevents moet light from entering between the flanges and thus materially reduces light fog which might otherwise occur.

The cylindrical container 'lis provided with one or more protuberances i around the open bottom 8; these protuberances serving as one-- element of a snap-latch for holding the film Spool in place, the ange of the film spool serving as the other element of a snap-latch. Therefore, the film spool can be readily snapped out of the container 1 by downward pressure along the line of the arrow A, shown in Fig. 4. This dislodges the iilm spool in an axial Vdirection so.

that it may readily move from the container.

As above explained, this camera maybe of the type shown in Mihalyi patent above referred to. The camera, schematically shown-in Figs. 1 and 2, may consist of a camera body I2 having a front Wall I3 on which a camera shutter I4 may7 be mounted, this shutter preferably having the usual trigger I5. The objective may be contained in a front lens vcell I6, or, if the lens is of the double type, the cell I6 may hold the front lens element and a rear lens element may be held inside of the threaded tube I1 which holds the camera shutter on the camera body I2. There is an exposure frame I8 through which light passes to the film in making an exposure, and a spring-presser member I9 is provided and thrust forwardly by the spring 2G to hold the iilm flat for exposure, and to form a part of a guiding channel which may be designated broadly as 2 I, leading from a supply spool chamber 22- to a take-up chamber 23. As indicated in the above-mentioned Mihalyi patent, the takeup`chamber 23 is provided with a leaf spring 24, which may cause the film to collina free loop when the film is propelled into the chamber 23. The chamber 22 is the supply chamber and there is a film guide 25 formed of a fixed plate on one side and an hour-glass shaped roller 26 on the other side between which the film may pass. When the nlm spool I is turned as by a winding knob 21, shown in Fig, 2, the edge of the film catches behind the guide 25 and the film isforced through the nlm guide and into theI taire-up chamber. By winding the f film intermittently, exposures may be made and any suitable form of nlm-measuring arrangement may be employed. The supply nlm chamber 22 is provided with a door 29 hinged at 3B to the top wall 3l of the camera, there being a snap-latch 32l for holding this door in a closed position. The iilm is loaded and unloaded through the door 29. f

The supply chamber has a winding shaft 83 attached to the winding knob 21; this shaft preferably, but not necessarily, extending upwardly substantially the full length of the spool I to support the spool in the proper position.

The supply chamber 22 is provided with a special partially-cylindrical receptacle 33 which may be entirely supported by a support 34 carried by the bottom wall |35 of the camera.

Referring to the last four figures where the film support is shown more in detail, the vinlinsupporting shaft 83 may consist of an upper portion 35 which is square in cross section, this square cross section being molded into a circular cross section at 38 and terminating in a small, rounded end 31.

The semi-cylindrical receptacle 33 is open through perhaps 35 orillddegrees, as indicated at 38 in Fig. l; the wall being eliminated through this particular area. On one edge 39 of this open section there is a spring 4i! formed by which is exactly like it but it is arranged preferably at 180 degrees from the spring 4U. This spring 45 is provided with a bottom edge 43 similar to the inwardly-turned edge 42 and is 'similar to theA inwardly-turned lug 43.

also provided with. an inwardly-turned lug 41 The purpose of these twosprings is to facilitate loading and unloading. In loading, the nlm cartridge is inserted, as indicated in Fig. 6, and is moved downwardly until the lower edge 8 of the cylindricalcontainer strikes the inwardly-turned lugs 43 and 41. This stops the downward move-1 ment of the container. By pressing on the upper film spool iiange and drawing upwardly on the container, the container will then be removed from the spool which will be held in its lowermost position because the iiange of they spool will be engaged on the inside by a holding latch 48 of a spring arm 49 formed by slotting the receptacle at 5D. If desired, an outwardly-'ex-` tending lug 5I may be provided for manually releasing this latch member,but whether or not this latch is provided, when the cartridge is inserted and the iilm spool is pressed downwardly, as above described, the lower spool flange will beheld in position. This position is shown in Fig. 8. AThe cylindrical container is then removed, the camera cover 29 closed, and by turning the handle 21, the edge 6 of the 'film will engage the guide passing :between the guide 25 and the roller 26 whichbows thev nlm iny cross section so that it may pass from between the inwardly-formed beads 54`and 55 of the spool.

The film may be propelled into the Vtake-up chamber 23 in a loose coil and then may be returned to the original spool I by winding the handle 21 in a reverse direction. Exposures may be made while the lm ispassing either from left to right, or vice versa, but, of course, must not be made when the lm -is vpassing in both directions'.

When the film Ahas been completely exposed and it is desired to remove the exposed roll of lm, the cylindrical containerv is inserted-over the spool and pressed down into the partiallycylindrical receptacle 33. As the cylindrical member moves downwardly, it can no longer'be caught by the proposed in-turned iianges 43 and 41 because the lower iilm spool flange lies opposite the turned-in portions 42 and 46 of the spring members 40 and 45, thus holding them outwardly to such 'an extent that thecylindrical container can pass freely down until it completely enclosesl the iilm spool.v In this downward movement, 'the cylindrical container engages and cams outwardly the latch member 48 which previously held the lower flange of the iilm spool so that the inwardly-formed protuberances l I! of the container may snap over the lower ange' Blof the ilm spool to latch the film spool in the con# tainer. The container may'then be raised, moving the spool freely with'it, and the exposed viilrn 1n the cartridge will be protected against light.

While it has taken some time to describe `the operation of loading and unloading ourp'referred form of quick-loading film cartridge andA camera, actually these operations can take place extremely rapidly and extremely easily. Eachtime a iilm is loaded or unloaded into the camera, it is loaded axially through the door 29 which can be rapidly v l 7` holding the spool angeagainst axial movement' to facilitate removal of the iilm. 9. A roll holder. for camerasoi thextype vin which a lm cartridge, comprising a anged spool carrying convolutons of film. and covered by a cylindrical container, may bemounted for ex,- posure of the lm andcomprising a receptacle carried by the camera into which the film` spool may be axially loaded, means for limiting movement of the container `into the receptacle, and a snap-latch' carried by the receptacle for engaging a ilange of the spool when axially moved into the receptacle` to denitely retain the spool thereinVthe cylindrical container for the film being adapted to be used to release the snap-latch holding the spool flange against axial movement in the receptacle to facilitate removal ofA the i'llm, said cylindrical container for the film includinga snap-latch element positioned to engage a iilm spool flange when said cylindrical container completely .surrounds the film cartridge whereby said cylindrical containermay release the llatcnholding the spool inthe receptacle Vand latch vthe spool in the cylindrical container to faclitate removal of the spool from the holder. .10. In a roll iilm holder: for cameras, the combination with a support, of an axially loadable receptacle carried by the support, a film cartridge comprising alm spool having iianges, lm convolutions thereon anda cylindrical container enclosing-the filma'spool and iilm, said container being of a size to telescope into the axially loadable receptacle, and meanscarried by the loadable receptacle .to normally limit thetelescoping movementcf ythe cylindrical'` container.

1l. In a roll fllmholder -forcameras the com.- bination with. a support, of an yaxiallyloadable receptacle carried by the support, a lm cartridge comprising a film spool having flanges, film convolutions thereon and a cylindrical container enclosingthe lin lspool and ilm,l,said container being of a` size to telescope, Ainto the axially, loadable receptacle, and means carried by the loadable reeptacle to normallydimit the telescoping move.

ment of the cylindrical container, said means beingmovably niountedon the container, and movable by a film spool flangeto an inoperative position.

12v. In a roll yiilnfifholder for cameras, the confiination with fa support, of an axially loadable 'receptacle carried bythe support, a film car-l tridge comprising a film spool havinggiianges, iilm `convolutions theren'and a cylindrical con'-l tainerA enclosing the film' spool and nlm, said container bei'rig'of a size to telescope into the axially loadable receptacle, means carried by the loadable' receptacle to normally. limit the telescoping n'ioven'ient*of the cylindrical container,

anda spring latch .element positionedto engage-l and latch the ange of a film spool againstaxia movement in the receptacle.

13. In a roll film holder for cameraathe come bination with a support, of an axially loadable receptacle carried by the support, a lm car-l tridge comprising a nlm spool havingfiianges,

Iilm convolutions thereon and a cylindrical con.

tainer enclosing the film spool and lilm,- said container being of a size to telescope into thev to engage and latch the flange of aiiilm spool against axial movement from the receptacle, a spring carrying the means for. limiting the telescoping movement of the cylindrical container,

the lrn spool flange when latched against axialmovement contacting with the spring to hold the means for limiting the telescoping movement ofthe cylindrical container inoperative.

14. In a roll film holder for cameras, the com-f ibination with a support, of an axially loadable receptacle carried by the support, a film cartridge comprising a lm spool havingranges, film convolutions thereon and a cylindrical container normally enclosing the nlm spool and lm, said container being of a size to telescope into the axially loadable receptacle, and means carried by the loadable receptacle to normally limit the telescoping movement of the cylindrical container therein, a spring latch element positioned to engage and latch the lm of a iilml spool against axial movement from thev recep` tacle, a spring carrying means for limiting lthe telescoping `movement of the cylindrical containerrelative to the loadable receptacle, the lm spool flange when latched against axial movement from the receptacle contacting Withthe spring to hold the means for limiting the telescoping movement of the cylindrical container inoperative, and the cylindrical container contacting with and `releasing the latch for holding a film spool flange against axial movement from the receptacle when said container telescopes into the axially loaded receptacle.

JOSEPH il/irHALYI.y ERWIN J. WARD; n

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date 

